Exiles Army
by Zoken
Summary: With Hyperion and Proteus finally behind them, the Exiles come upon a new and startling problem. the decay in the multiverse is now progressing far too fast for just six heroes to stop. and so they start recruiting. Meet the Exiles Army
1. Chapter 1

Exiles-Desperation

Darkness… it was all Craig Hollis had known for forty-seven million hours. That was how long it had been since the last visible star had burned out. Loneliness was all he'd known since Xrtal and Phoenix had died fifty-eight million hours ago, the last two beings left in the universe besides himself. And now, here he was, waiting for it all to end.

That was why he was so shocked to find himself, not on the small asteroid he'd named "Milwaukee", but in a bright desert. "WHERE AM I?" he demanded, louder than he'd intended.

"Sorry for the disorientation," said a gentle voice. Craig rounded on the approaching being.

Her skin was a bright pink, which to him signaled Xarthanoid, but she had green eyes, not blue ones. And she was humanoid. The last humanoids had died with Skrullos. "Who… what are you?" He demanded, quickly focusing his mind, and evaporating all thought inside it just as the Nadarians had taught him.

"My name is Blink," She said gently. "I know you are disoriented. I know you are confused. But I will explain everything." She made some gesturing and two chairs rose out of the sand. "You have been unhinged in time."

"Un-what in what? How do you know English… how are you alive?"

"This may be difficult to understand Mr. Hollis, but you are no longer in your universe," She said gently. "You are in fact, in a multi-dimensional observatory called the Panoptichron that is positioned outside of space and time."

Craig took a few moments, reading her. She was telling the truth. "Fine," He said. "If I'm not in my universe, that still doesn't explain where you came from."

"I'm from another universe," She answered as she sat. She was young, perhaps her early twenties. "Your universe is fairly unique," she said. "None of the others I've seen are so advanced in the aging process."

"You mean there are others that still thrive?" Craig asked incredulously as he himself sat.

"Yes, most of them. But they won't for long." She sighed. She was obviously coming to the heavy business. "That is why I am here, and why I have wanted to speak with you. There is a problem with the omniverse. There is a species, called the Time Breakers. They were the first we know of to discover the Panoptichron."

"They built it?" Craig asked.

"No, they found it. They used it to run experiments, but that was a mistake. Their experiments caused a breakdown in the omniverse, a slow one. So they used reality forecasting technology, and assembled teams of super-humans to go in and repair the timelines that their experiments damaged. Do you understand?"

"Yeah, some jerks messed with science they didn't understand and forced others to fix it."

"In a nut shell," Blink agreed.

"It caused the death of more planets than I care to recall," Hollis said sighing, recalling his long life.

"Well the problem was exacerbated by two entities. One was named Hyperion, he was a malevolent version of a being who is usually a hero. They put him on a team, not realize his lust for power. When they thought he died, he broke free of their entombment casing, and took over. The Time Breakers, though very smart by most standards, are far from powerful. So he was able to command them to torment the surviving team, my team called the 'Exiles'."

"I've known a few assholes like that," Craig grumbled. "But I did know a Hyperion. He was a good man, a true hero. His planet loved him."

"As I said, the evil in this Hyperion was an anomaly I'm sure. In any case, we were able to send him back where he came from, an empty Earth. After that we meant to get back to fixing the timelines, but we accidentally let loose another evil on the Omniverse. Proteus."

"I recall speaking with Wolverine about Proteus," Craig said, reaching very far back in his memory.

"Well, this one used his reality warping powers, and our computers to wreak havoc on the omniverse. The effect the two combined malevolent beings had on the Omniverse is an exponential decay in reality."

"That's horrible, but your team… is it still together?"

She nodded. "Yes, but… we've had casualties…" a tear slid from her eye.

"A lover?" he asked. "your most beloved?" his eyes seemed especially old, though his body was frozen at 21.

She nodded. "My… my first."

"my condolences," He said. "I would tell you of my pains, but each loss is fresh. It doesn't get easier, and you will never love another as you loved him. But, if you allow yourself to heal… you will love again. And I'm sure he, she, rau, or it would want you to."

She didn't even notice his extra pronouns. He was the first to say something to her that actually made her feel better. She should have known this guy would be able to understand. Having out lived everyone he'd ever known. "Thank you. But back to business. The reason I've called you sit that your universe no longer has need of heroes. And it will not end for another five-hundred thousand years."

"Time enough to help with your cause?" he said finally realize why he was brought here.

"Only if you wish. We can return you the moment you ask," she said with a nod.

"Far be it form be to sentence the omniverse to death but… just me?"

"No, no," she said. "Hundreds through out the omniverse are being asked to join. Most of them are being approached in their native reality." She looked down as she stood. "We need the reinforcements. A six member team can no longer keep up with the decay."

"Multiple teams working to sew the seams at both ends, hoping to meet in the middle?" he asked.

"And each team according to the needs of the reality," She added. "No need sending in someone like the Juggernaut if all we need do is buy a Danish."

"Buy a danish?" he asked with a laugh.

"I kid you not," she said, gesturing to a doorway that opened in front of them. "One of our missions, all we did was buy a Danish."

"Now that had to be an odd mission," Craig Hollis, also known as Mr. Immortal commented as he moved toward the main portion of the Panoptichron.

* * *

'Poor bastard,' Captain America thought. "Give it up Magneto. We've removed all metallic items from within a hundred miles!"

"No!" The Master of Magnetism roared. "I will not be defeated by one of YOU! Humans are meant to rule this planet, Not you Damn Dirty Apes!"

It didn't take long. They didn't even really need Captain America on this. Mostly Hawkeye and Mockingbird dealt blows to Magneto. Had Captain America or Iron Fists laid a hand on him… it would have been messy, and murder. Most wouldn't have objected, but Captain America would have. Magneto may have been a human terrorist, but he was still an intelligent creature.

Steve Rodgers, Captain America, made it to the top of Avengers Tower, where he and the rest of the New Avengers were head quartered. They were good friends. Spider-Ape was hilarious, if you got him started on jokes. Iron-Ape always knew when you needed a good fermented fruit. Iron Fists was new to the Avengers level work. He was one of the richest apes in the world, far behind Tony, but still pretty damn rich. The only one he had a problem with was Wolverine. A human. Wolverine had an enhanced healing factor and adamantium bonded to his bones, which included a set of claws in his arms. He was very cocky for a human. Most humans were extremely weak compared to Apes. They usually made up for it though with some sort of meta-talent. Some had useless meta-talents, like one man Steve had had to save, who was simply hairless and had a human face. Others, like Cyclopes, could punch a hole in a mountain with a force beam that came from his eyes.

Steve retired to his room where he was surprised not to be alone. "Hello," said a pale human.

"Human… what are you doing here?" Steve gripped his shield tightly with his left foot. Not his primary throwing hand, but when push came to shove, he could sling it with any of his four hands.

"Human?" asked the bizarrely pale human. He scratched his bald head. He wasn't just bald, but he had no nose. The truth was he looked like was a cartoon character. A simple crude drawing of what a human looked like. "Well… never been called that when I was looking like this, but then again, Captain America is a gorilla, so there you go."

"Of course I'm a gorilla!" Steve protested. "Did you expect me to be a yeti? Or a Sasquatch? Or are you one of those nuts who think I'm just a human trying to pass as an Ape?"

"No disrespect, meant," said the pale human. "I'm usually called a mutant. But in your reality, all life is still ape-like."

"Are you saying there are worlds where humans run the show?" asked Steve incredulously."

"Yup," said the pasty human. "In fact, most are that way."

"Now your going to tell me the Fantastic Four and the Red Ghosts Super Humans are supposed to be friends."

"Listen," said the white human. "I'll cut to the chase. "I'm from another reality. My name is Morph… well Kevin, but I prefer Morph. You have just locked away the last remaining meta criminal on this planet haven't you?" he asked.

"Well… yes."

"I would like you to join my friends in an even greater mission than you have ever taken on before."

Steve leaned forward. "Do we need to save my reality?"

Morph shook his head. "If ONLY it were that easy." And then he began his story.

* * *

In the brightly lit halls of the Panoptichron, Craig Hollis knelt before the wall of the fallen. "May your mistakes be remembered, your faults forgotten, and your great deeds cherished," he whispered in Grackle. It was a prayer he'd picked up through the years.

"That was nice," Blink said, touching her hand to one tomb in particular.

"Just something," he said, light blush on his cheek. A woman in what appeared to be a purple bathing suit and a white lab coat rushed by. "Is that the immortal guy?" she asked Blink.

"Yeah," Blink turned to Craig. "Mr. Hollis, this is Dr. Heather Hudson, Heather, this is Mr. Craig Hollis."

"Pleasure to meet you," Heather said, looking at her watch.

"I knew a Heather Hudson once," Craig mentioned. "A long time ago. She immigrated a few miles south and joined my Great Lakes Champions. She was white and had a super-suit."

"I was Sasquatch," Heather explained. "Was, now I'm mission control. I have to supervise Morph's return from that Ape-World," she said. "New quarters are that way," Dr. Hudson said, pointing down the hallway. "After that, you and Miguel are dropping into that Utopia world."

They jostled along in the direction that Heather had pointed. There were many others, mostly humanoids that the Exiles had already recruited. They finally made it to a room marked "C. Hollis/ Mr. Immortal".

She took him in. "There's a shower attached," she showed him, opening a door. "And the Shower and bathroom you share with your neighbor, who I think is arriving soon. Get this, a Gorilla Captain America."

"Huh," Craig grunted. "Thank you Blink," he said.

"Call me Clarice," She said.

"Hello Clarice," Craig said in a mildly creepy tone.

"Hey," She smiled, "Leave the bad impressions to Morph."

"Some one call me?" asked a pale mutant and omega-level shape-shifter named Morph.

"Hey, Morph," Blink greeted her friend. "Meet Craig Hollis."

"Ah, the Great Lakes Avenger," Morph beamed brightly.

"Champion," Craig corrected. "We were the Great Lakes Champions."

"Well, please meet an amazing ape, Steve Rodgers," Morph gestured to the side of the bathroom door he'd appeared in. and a gorilla in a Captain America costume stepped in.

"The facilities will require a little retooling," the gorilla commented graciously. "everything is designed for a human. There's hardly room for me in the hallways."

"We'll do what we can," Blink apologetically. "We've been rushed, we had to get them to add the barracks here, so…"

"It isn't a problem in the short term," Steve said. This woman was obviously in charge, and a good leader at that. "I just appreciate your understanding, and want you to know that I am ready to do what ever it takes to rectify the situation."

"Well, you new Hinges," Blink said, using a word that had freshly been adopted into her lexicon, "We'll start in about ten hours, time for you to get some orientation, and sleep."

* * *

Two hours later, Blink showed up on a new world. The streets and buildings were clean. The skies were clear of pollution; there was nary a drop of garbage in the oceans. The last garbage dump was closed down two years ago. This world was unique among most. It was perfect. It was at peace. And Blink and Miguel, the Spider-Man from Earth 2099, arrived in front of what the natives of this earth called "Hero's Hall".

Their arrival was not unnoticed either. The one hundred plus free surviving meta-humans rushed from the tower to face what they thought was an attack.

"Who are you two?" demanded Captain America.

"And no lies," Growled Cyclops.

"My name is Clarice Ferguson," Blink began. "And this is Miguel O'Hara."

Spider-Man bowed.

"We need help from some of you," she continued.

"Help with what?" Vision asked.

Blink and Spider-Man were surrounded, but they weren't afraid. She could get them out of there in a heartbeat. She told them their story. She took a breath and looked at them, ready to see what their response would be. "You are warriors," she said. "In a world where there may never be another war."

"May," Captain America said. "We can't just abandon our world because you think there is a greater cause."

"Saving not just our planet or universe, but millions of realities isn't a good enough cause for you Rodgers?" said Cyclops sarcastically.

"No one wants to force you to come," Blink clarified. "We are asking. In fact you are right, it would be best if a large team did stay here.

An hour later the volunteers were Cyclops, Beast, Super-Skrull, Forge, Cypher.

After Blink got Cyclops, Beast, and Super-Skrull squared away. She then took Forge and Cypher, and introduced them to Dr. Hudson. They took an immediate liking to learning about the intricacies of the Panoptichron. They even managed to tolerate the Time-Breakers better than all others before them.


	2. Chapter 2

Exiles: Desperation

Chapter II: Teaming Up

"You have to be mistaken," the young tattooed man asserted. "Me? A hero?" he had a slim build, reddish brown hair, and red sunglasses. It was summer so he wasn't wearing a shirt, not that he always wore one in the winter. "I couldn't even keep a rock band together."

"The reality forecasting is almost never wrong," Morph assured him. "Hey, When I was your age, I was a just some idiot joking around with my friends… How could I know what I would become."

"Seriously," Scott Summers from reality 866 reiterated. "I'm no hero. I'm a singer, and a guitarist, but I'm not a hero."

Morph put his hand on the young man's shoulder. "I know it's been hard these last couple of months, with Kurt leaving for Seminary, Rogue committing suicide, Jean getting hooked on meth and then checked into rehab, and then Pietro up and left you… It wasn't your fault."

"I… I wasn't there for them… like I wasn't there for Alex," Scott said. Scott Summers was eighteen. Three years ago he and his friends Pietro, Jean, Kurt, and Rogue had started a rock band called "X-Men". Their songs had done a lot to help other mutants find courage within themselves to come forward, and to help humans understand there was almost nothing to be afraid of in mutants. A year ago it started to spin out of control when Kurt left to start his training for the priest hood. Rogue, who was closest to him, felt abandoned and grew even more reclusive than she already was. She ended up taking a bottle of sleeping pills. She was dead before Pietro found her. This sent the rest of them into a downward spiral of depression. Pietro was disappearing for days at a time, and Jean was growing more and more addicted to meth. Scott did his best to pull them back together, but he couldn't. He was able to get Jean into a Meth clinic, but she hated him so much for telling her parents about her addiction that she said she never wanted to see him again.

"Come with us," Morph said solemnly. "And you don't have to stay in this place with these memories. Come with us, and you will see that you have the makings of a hero inside you. And this is coming from someone who has seen his share of heroes."

Meanwhile on Earth 9031, Jean was having a harder go of things.

"I-I can't leave," said the woman in her nun's habit.

"You are needed," pleaded Blink. The massive form of Victor Creed was sitting in a pew watching all of this. "Hundreds of worlds are at risk… are you going to be the one that dooms them?"

"I am not to blame… I am serving God now… I vowed never to…" Susan Storm continued to rant.

"Listen, Storm," Victor cut in. "Don't God say yer supposed to help people in the best way y' can?"

"Yes, but…"

"Honey, you think you got them powers for no reason?" Victor challenged again.

"They took a life!" she snapped at him. "I took a life."

"You screwed up," Victor returned. "It happens. You can't save everyone. And besides, how many more people would have died if you didn't end that fight when you did? The kid was in the wrong place at the wrong time. You led that thing to a safe place."

Susan Storm, Or Sister Mary Susan as she was known in the convent, was at one time a member of the "Fantastic Four". After her once fiancé Reed Richards took them up into space, they had come back down with the ability to burst themselves into flame and fly. They had fought a monster created by the "Miracle Man", but in the process a little girl was burned alive. Sue had taken the death harder than any of the rest of her team.

"Please," Blink tried. "If serving him is to help others in need, you can help millions in most dire need."

"I will go…" she finally whispered.

On earth 9033 Zarda stood in awe as she looked upon the grassy fields of Monster Isle.

"Just… gimme a minute more," Johnny said in the thick gravely voice he now possessed. He stood in front of three graves.

On this earth the Fantastic four had all been transformed into hideous monsters. The effect seemed to go even farther on Reed and Sue as it wiped out Sue's mind, and caused Reed to become irrational and violent. A few months ago, Reed had completely lost it and murdered Sue, and then attempted to kill Johnny. Ben intervened, saving Johnny, but sustained fatal injuries and killing Reed in the struggle. Johnny had to bury his sister, and two best friends. He was more than happy to leave this sad, sad place. Johnny stood, seven feet tall with lumpy orange rock skin, but not the fragmented brick like complexion of 616 Ben Grimm.

On earth 9032

"Eh, Why not," Ben Grimm grunted. He had no home and no family. At least, none he wanted to acknowledge. His wife had left him and taken their young child. What hurt most is she had left him for his college friend, Reed Richards. And so he went with Spider-Man.

In the Panoptichron.

With a flash of light Captain America, and the Immortal had returned from their mission. "Success," Captain America told Hudson with a thumbs up.

"Watch out in the barracks," she called to them. "New Hinges getting set up."

Cap nodded his head. He wanted to get something to eat anyway and probably take up another mission.

In the barracks a confused, but joyful voice called out, "SUE?!"

Sue "Candle" Storm screeched as a being of orange rock lifted her, but quickly looked in his eyes and recognized her brother. "Oh… Johnny, what happened to you?"

Johnny "Thing" Storm looked at her incredulously, then back at Zarda. "In her world they all gained fire powers," Zarda explained.

"I don't friggin' believe it," Ben grumbled, as he walked over to the group. "Sue," he said coldly.

"Benjamin!" Sue said, one who looked like her old friend warmly.

"Absolutely fascinating," Reed muse das he walked up to the group. This reed came from a world where the crash granted him the ability to project invisibility. He had joined the CIA working for Fury on a pilot program called "SHIELD".

"I'm walking away from this before it gets even MORE uncomfortable," Miguel O'Hara said.

"I thought you might like to meet a few people," Morph said warmly. "This," he gestured to a group of people sitting at a table. "Is…"

"Kurt…" Scott filled in. He marveled at the older version of his friend. One that had apparently finished his seminary training.

" Yeah, but where he's from they call him 'Nightcrawler'. And this is Lorna Dane," the silver haired girl waved shyly at him. "Or Quick Silver. Next to her the charming blonde man is the nigh powerless Douglas 'Cypher' Ramsey, who will be joining Ms. Hudson in the control room. And the Lovely lady there is Tabitha 'Boom-Boom' Smith."

Tabitha stared at what she recognized as Scott Summers, but some how this Rock god in front of her was irreconcilable with the stiff geek from back in her world. "Hubba, hubba," she said. "Can we expect that kind of a show every where you go?" she asked, gesturing to the fact that Scott still had no shirt on.

Scott, despite his former status as a rock-icon, was still bashful with such a forward girl. "Um… I guess so."

"Guten Tag, Mein Fruend," Kurt said. "It is good to see even a copy of mein old friend."

"You knew the other me?" Scott asked.

"Jyah," Kurt nodded, as did Tabby, Cypher, and Lorna.

"What was he like?" asked Scott fearfully.

"The most selfless, and heroic man I ever had the pleasure of working vizh." Kurt supplied.

"A bit of a stuff, but he knew what he was doing in a fight," Tabby offered.

"Hero," was all Cypher said.

"Hero," agreed Lorna.


	3. Chapter 3

Exiles: Desperation

Chapter III-Mission: Improbable

Earth-65229

Craig Hollis was dressed all in black. He waved his hand and Sabertooth moved around a wall in one direction while a green skinned Mystique moved in the other. He made a few more hand gestures, and Taskmaster moved to cover Sabertooth's spot while Sabertooth moved toward him.

"okay," Craig whispered. "You're going to hurl me over this wall, if possible, get me to land on the balcony."

Sabertooth nodded. He wasn't normally the kind to take orders from someone "new" at his job, but this guy was a few billion years old. He'd been willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, and so far he'd not been proven wrong.

Sabertooth launched the Immortal over the wall and the man landed with a roll on the balcony. He heard the whisper of two silenced shots and knew that Taskmaster had taken out a man who'd seen him. Craig quickly picked the lock on the balcony's French doors and entered. The guards had just barely turned to him as he put a bullet dead center in the foreheads of each of them. He then mounted the bed that took up the center of the room as it's occupant was just starting to rouse.

"W-who are you?!" demanded the black man.

"Craig Hollis, member of an inter-dimensional army dedicated to fixing an unraveling multi-verse," Craig answered honestly. "Do you love your country, King T'Challa?"

"Yes," the man said. "With every fiber of my body."

"Then understand that your death will ensure it's prosperity for centuries to come," Craig told him.

T'Challa's face was one of shock, but that slowly faded to acceptance. With anthor whispered shot, the mission was almost finished. "Start the cover-up," Craig said into his ear communicator. The green-skinned Mystique, Sabertooth, and Taskmaster immediately began to set charges around the walls, and leave misinformation. They'd come her to set things right, and Craig Hollis was making sure that it was done. He opened the doors and took out the guards. He had to kill as many as he could before the charges needed to be blown. It wasn't difficult. His mind drifted back to before the mission started.

* * *

Panoptichron

"Why should I not go?" Clarice Ferguson asked tersely. She'd become good friends with the quite Craig Hollis since he'd joined. He'd gravitated toward her because hers was the first face he'd seen in more than a century.

"This isn't your kind of mission," Craig said in a hollow voice. It was the kind of voice that scared Clarice. She recognized it from when Mr. Creed would use it.

"you're taking Mr. Creed," she challenged.

"This is his kind of mission," Craig continued.

"I've been doing this for years, and you're telling me what is and isn't my kind of missions?" she asked angrily.

"Listen to him pup," Victor said. "He just don't want you lookin' at us differently after you see what we do on this sortie."

She paused, looking between the two men. "I'll be back soon," he said with a weak smile. "We'll grab a sandwich in the café and talk." With that he stepped onto the pad with the team he'd selected, all wearing black and armed with semi-automatic handguns.

* * *

Earth-65229

His thoughts were brought back to the present when he heard Mystique of his intercom, "Charges in ten, nine," she said, starting a count down.

Craig Hollis began to trek back to them, running, but not in a hurried fashion.

He was just out of the building when the charges blew. The force knocked him through the air, to land at the feet of his team mates. He was badly burned, his body mangled, an arm missing, his spine snapped, and other maladies layered upon those. "You mind?" he asked Sabertooth.

Victor reached down and twisted the man's head all the way around. A ragged breath escaped him, then a sudden intake as his body was reset.

"God I wish I could do that," Taskmaster said with a shake of his head.

Craig gave him a dark look as they were teleported out.

* * *

Panoptichron

"Exiles-Immortal!" called one of the time breakers. "Mission success. Wakanda will conquer all of Africa ushering in Pax Africana inside of two months."

"God rest you T'Challa," Craig said quietly. He turned to his team. "I'm going to wash up, you guys check weapons in and take five." He handed his firearms to Sabertooth, who began to collect them from the rest of the team too, though they were less willing.

He showered quickly, getting his blood and the blood of others, as well as ash, and grime off of himself. It was strange, but he loved the feel of a shower, even if there were more efficient ways of getting clean in sufficiently advanced cultures, there was nothing like a nice warm show to make you feel like you had a soul again.

* * *

Earth-9865

"NO!" screamed Loki. "It can't be!"

"Believe it!" Scott Summers yelled, lifting his glasses to unleash another blast of energy at the Asguardian. It turned out that in this universe, Loki wasn't the son of a frost giant, but the son of a human. While Loki was a powerful sorcerer, he wasn't any stronger than your or I. however, he was almost ready to take over Asguard when the Exiles-X-Men team had arrived.

Loki had just struggled to his feet when Scott delivered a kick to his stomach. The rest of his team was taking care of the rock-giants and ogres that Loki had sicked upon the population of Asguard. Loki lashed out knocking Scott backward into the guitar he'd brought because the Timebreakers had told him to. He picked it up. "Time to face the music!" Scott yelled, wielding the electric guitar like a battle axe. Loki took a vicious crack across the head followed by another blast from Scott's optic beams. Loki was finally down.

Scott huffed and puffed. He looked at his beloved guitar, it was damaged beyond repair.

"WELL!" came a voice. Scott turned to see Odin and Thor standing beside Nightcrawler. Though this Kurt was older than Scott was, the mutant priest still deferred to Cyclops. "It seems a warrior and bad doth grace the halls of Asguard!" The old battle-scarred god gave him an enourmous, and scary, smile. "Come, you feast with the Gods tonight!"

"We have to get back," Scott said politely.

"Nonsense, Bard," Thor insisted. "Besides, it is Asguardian tradition to feed and heal one's savior, and to repair the armor and weapons they have ruined in battle." Thor took the remnants of Scott's guitar. "thou our smithy may not have seen something the likes of this."

Scott, Tabby, Lorna, and Kurt were all kept to sit and eat. Doug okayed the extended stay with Mrs. Douglas.

Tabby and Scott it turned out were both from a town that only existed in their two realities, one called Bayville. However in Scott's reality the X-Men were a band made up of Scott, Jean Grey, Pietro Maximoff, Rogue Adler, and Kurt Wagner. In Tabby's reality there was an Xavier Institute where the X-Men and New Recruits lived and they all attended Bayville high and had wonderfully over sugarcoated adventures that Tabby had walked out on twice now. She was happy to be gone from that and causing some serious ruckus. She let her eyes prowl over Scott. In her reality the guy was a stiff with no sense of humor. This guy was a rock god with a hell of a voice, and a body she'd love to… well, that's where we'll break off of Tabby's line of thought.

Kurt was from a world where mutants were known, but kept themselves and their powers hidden. When Magneto tried to form his "Brotherhood of Mutants" the government had eradicated him in a heartbeat, showing others the cost for trying to 'stir the pot'. Kurt had attended seminary, and become a priest. When the Exiles came to recruit him he'd been happy to leave a place where he was feared for how he looked. He also felt that he could help people deal with the issues that came up during this kind of life style as he also possessed a doctorate in psychology.

Lorna had been abused and maltreated by her mother, Magda Magna Lensherr, AKA Magneta. Lorna had been only too happy to distance herself from the controlling over bearing woman. She latched on to Scott as sort of a mixture of a father figure and an object of her affections. She wanted to please him and would do so anyway she could think of. Kurt was working with her on becoming more independent and self reliant. She just hadn't been the same since the death of her twin sister Wanda.

The Asguardian feast was loud, bountiful, and delicious. None of the X-Men asked what they were eating as they were afraid it would offend their hosts.

"NOW!" called Odin in his loud booming voice. "one finally matter of business." He turned to Scott. "Bard, thou didst rend thine strange lute asunder in the defeat of Loki. Thusly, we have taken upon ourselves to craft thee a replacement. My forge's have burned, and my artisans didst work side by side with high priests and weapons crafters to make thee… this."

Odin pulled out a beautiful stone gray guitar that looked like his old one had. Scott took it, surprised by how light it felt.

"She will never weigh down thine hands, though none but you shall be able to weild her." Odin was practically bragging now. "Give it a strum Bard, and tell us if our labor was fitting."

Scott plucked a couple of cords and they didn't just come out, the came out beautifully.

"She is also sturdy so that thou may wield her against many a foe without damaging her again, or even taking her out of tune."

Scott ran his fingers over the Guitar. The body and neck were made of some sort of metal/stone mix… no…"

"The body is made of Asguardian Uru… I do believe we've crafted the worlds' first Uru War-Guitar. She is vastly magical and capable of many feats if she is wielded properly." Odin nodded. "Further more, in accordance with something my advisors over heard from thine valkyrie," he gestured at Tabitha. "We bestow upon thee, the title of God in our realm, Scott Summers, savior of Asguard, and from this day forth… Asguardian God of Rock!"


	4. Chapter 4

Exiles: Desperation

Chapter IV:

Panoptichron

Craig sat down at the table under the fierce glare of the woman who was probably his best friend, Clarice Ferguson. "I told you, I… I can't explain."

"Why not?" she pressed.

"Because you wouldn't understand," he said. He looked up finally, into her eyes, and once again she got a sense for how old he really was.

"Craig," she said, hurt in her voice. "I've been doing this longer than almost anybody. Morph is the only Exile with more hours clocked than me. How can you say I wouldn't understand?"

"Because you are a hero, and only a hero," he said darkly. "You want to know what my mission had me do?" he asked. "I'll tell you. I killed a good man. A man who would have protected his people and loved a wife someday. I shot him right between the eyes, and then killed his guards, and set off bombs to cover it all up."

She just stared at him for a moment. "I did it because it was necessary to fix the rip. It was what the multiverse needed…" He lowered his head again. "I didn't want you coming along, because I didn't want you to seem me do that."

She shut her mouth. For all the time that she'd been a leader, the Timebreakers hadn't sent her to do something so bloody. They'd had Weapon X for that.

Craig pushed away from the table, "I… I'm just going to give you some time on that one." He walked down the Hall of Habitats, and away from her.

She turned down to stare at their uneaten sandwiches. She felt like throwing up to know someone she cared about was capable of that. Then again, she'd always known Mr. Creed was more than willing to bloody his hands for the right reason. Why did it trouble her so that Craig could be that violent, that cold? It had been over a month since they had started their "Exiled Army" project. Craig and she had been very close. She chalked it up to being the first person he'd met, but he was funny, and wise, and very kind. He didn't let his eyes travel and paw at every scantly clad form that walked by him, yet he made her feel lovely every time they chatted. Could she be… no… it was too soon. Cal, she still loved him. She couldn't be feeling something for Craig.

* * *

Craig was sitting on a mountain top in one of the rooms off the Hall of Habitats. He liked coming there. It was peaceful, serene.

"Problems?" came a voice. He looked to see his friend, Captain America, from the Ape world.

"Strange feelings," he said quietly. "Ones I thought I wouldn't have again."

"Love?" asked the gorilla.

Craig shook his head, "Shame. Somehow Clarice can make me feel like a complete monster for doing… doing what I know needed to be done."

"Those we care about can always make us feel as if we have gone wrong," the Ape replied. "It's a good thing."

"Yeah… but I thought… well I thought I couldn't feel shame any longer after… after all I'd been through."

The Gorilla shrugged his shoulders. "You'd be surprised what you feel; even when you know there is no reason for it. I still get offended when someone makes a 'Monkey' joke at my expense." Steve looked at the watch on his left ankle. "Well, I must go, I have a mission in an hour, and I have to prep."

"Do well," Craig said to the gorilla. "Keep your fur clean."

"And you," Steve returned with a smile.

'Why did he think I was feeling love?' Craig wondered. 'I mean sure, I care a great deal for Clarice, and for what she thinks of me, and I know she is beautiful, and I would do just about anything for her but I don't… damnit.'

* * *

Earth-80395

"Watch it Sue!" Called Johnny "Thing" Storm. A hail of bullets impacted upon Johnnies back as he placed himself between the bullets and his sister.

"Johnathan," Susan "Candle" Storm scolded. "I could vaporize the bullets before they even get close." She ignited and flew off.

The Exiles Fantastic Four team was facing off against The Church of Doom, a cult dedicated to Dr. Doom.

"Alright, enough guardin' Susan," snapped Ben "Stretch" Grimm called. "Thing, take out that wave of Doombots, Candle I need those planes downed Now. Spider-Woman, we're taking down the Priestess and the Apprentice."

Stretch used his amorphous body to plow through countless dregs.

Beside him, also serving on the team, was Mary-Jane "Spider-Woman" Watson, from the Vi-Lock world. She had volunteered when they mentioned they were recruiting. She would do anything to feel slightly closer to her now dead former lover, Sunfire an Exile who died in action.

"Forget the Cannon fodder people," snapped Dr. Reed "Mr. Fantastic" Richards through the taluses. "You need to pull the masks off the Priestess and the Apprentice. Doom himself will take care of the rest."

"What do you think we're trying to do!" snapped Grimm, as he slung a couple of dregs out of his way, trying to stretch his way to his opponents.

"GOT 'EM!" called out Spider-Woman. She slung two web-lines to reveal the faces of Lyja Lazerfist and Johnny Storm.

Instantly all four members were ported out as Doom expressed his disgust with being represented by a Skrull.

* * *

Panoptichron

"You alright Sue?" asked Johnny, looking over his "sister"

"Fine, Johnathan," she said in a tired voice. "Must you make a fuss after every mission?"

"I'm sorry…" he said, his face falling downward. "It's just… I lost you…er… MY Sue in a bad way and I… well, I can't loose you again."

She gave his arm an understanding pat, not sure if he could feel it through the rock. "It's alright, Johnathan. I understand. It is nice to have a friend… I don't think either Ben or Mary-Jane likes me very much."

The truth was Ben was having his own displacement problems. The Sue Storm of his world had been his wife, and even given him children before she left him for Reed Richards. He avoided her after missions so that he wouldn't say things to her that she really hadn't earned. After all, this Sue was a nun.

Mary-Jane avoided her for reasons less simple. Sue's powers were incredibly similar to Sunfire, the Exile Mary-Jane had been in love with. When sue was ablaze it was almost impossible to tell her from Sunfire. It hurt Mary-Jane, who had yet to fall in love again. She at least had a good friend in Morph. Together the two of them were teaching Miguel "Spider-Man" O'Hara how to be funny. It was an uphill battle. He wasn't allowed to be the only unfunny spider-man in the omniverse.

Sue and Johnny walked through the Halls to the main cafeteria, where they ate. Sue almost shrank behind Johnny when Reed walked past them. This Reed wasn't like the one from her world. She didn't like how his eyes traveled over her. How he seemed to view her like an object. The only thing they knew about him was that after they had received their powers, the members of the Fantastic Four from his reality had joined Nick Fury's SHIELD program. Reed Richards had spent the last few years as a spy in deepest of covers.

"Guten tag Sister," came a voice that restored comfort to Sue. Kurt Wagner was about the only person in the Exiled Army she felt understood her relationship with God, probably because he was a priest himself.

"Good afternoon Father Wagner," she greeted him. "Was your venture successful?' she asked.

"Oh, this I must tell you in person," he said with a chuckle as he thought of what had happened to his field leader.

Mary-Jane sat at a table, eating a burger and fries with a few girls she had become accostumed to eating with. They were both on what was known as the "Bruiser" team. Betsy "Juggernaut" Braddock and Molly "Basher" Hayes were her friends in here. "Any good missions?" she asked absently.

"We took down the Berlin Wall," Betsy said. "Good history lesson for the bird here," she gestured at Molly. While Betsy was Seven foot eight inches tall, and built like She-Hulk, Molly was twelve and built like… a skinny twelve-year-old girl.

Molly stuck her tongue out as she put away another chicken nugget and chugged down some coffee. "Not hard really," she said. "Just concrete and rebar. We got to hear this really cool guy speak though."

"his name, luv, was Ronald Reagan. 'Bout the last half-way decent prez you yanks elected… not that he was an angel dear just… halfway decent."

"I wouldn't know," Mary-Jane said with a shake of her head. "Last president I can actually remember was… George Bush, and he was turned into a Vi-Lock in office."

"Cyber-Zombies… eugh," Molly shuddered going to put her tray up.

"You know," Betsy said, once they were alone, "You'll have to talk to your Team members eventually… including Candle."

Mary-Jane looked at her suspiciously.

"Relax Luv, I don't know why you're avoiding her, but I have a descent idea. You have the hots for her don't you?"

"How did you know that I'm…"

"ever hear the term 'takes one to know one?" she asked with a grin.

Mary-Jane just stared wide-eyed at the tall British woman.

Betsy just smiled smugly. "sorry to break your heart luv, but that one is completely and totally straight."

"Well… It's not that," Mary-Jane said reluctantly. "She just reminds me of… someone."

"Ah, that blows then." Betsy put a massive hand on her friends shoulders.

All of a sudden a call came over the intercom. "This is an Emergency Bruiser Call. Repeat, an Emergency Bruiser call. All Bruisers report to excursion plat form immediately. Betsy ruffled Mary-Jane's short red hair once and took off running. She was quickly joined by Molly, Shang-Chi (the Phoenix), Rick "Hulk" Jones, and Johnny "Thing" Storm. They quickly filed into the Exursion platform and were joined, surprisingly, by Taskmaster.

"Alright," Said a weak looking General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross. "You're being dropped into a Hydra den where they are preparing to send a missile full of all kinds of bio- and chemical- weapons into a major Aquifer and poison the U.S. for decades to come. Bruisers, your job will be to punch, and kick anything that gets in your way. The only Metas there will be knock-offs of Captain America, Iron-Man, Hawkeye, and Thor. None of them near the originals, plus a couple thousand Hydra-soldiers. Taskmaster is going to be disarming the warheads and make sure that missile doesn't launch. Clear?"

"Sir, yes sir." Responded the Bruisers, who were used to their "dispatcher". They were transported in.

* * *

Earth 727

It was like setting off a bomb. Except for the Taskmaster, all of the members of the team were high level super-strengths with high degrees of invulnerability. The most impressive were Phoenix, because along with his strength and invulnerability he was trained in martial arts, he could take on fifty men by himself without the Phoenix Force. With it… he was a weapon of mass destructions, and Basher. Her normally weak looking body was augmented by psionic powers that made her massively strong and completely invulnerable even when it came to enchanted objects. This is why she wasn't even phased when the Thor-knockoff shattered his hammer over her head. She gave him a punch in the gut and sent him flying.

With her helmet off, Juggernaut was fighting in double time, by using her strength on those closest and her telepathy on those further away.

Hulk was launching himself into the air to do battle with the Iron Man knockoff.

That was when a few words came over their ear pieces that they would never be able to forget… "What in the Sam-Hell?! Phoenix! Do you see anyone else teleporting in?"


	5. Chapter 5

Exiles: Desperation

Chapter V

Earth 727

Phoenix was almost paralyzed in fear as he saw a man come zooming down on a silver board. He spread his phoenix wings and made to intercept him.

"You interfere with the work of the Silver Surfer?!" roared the being. "You will be annihilated."

On the ground most of the Hydra troops had been dispatched. Those that weren't were fleeing like scared bunnies.

The Silver Surfer then proceeded to attack the weapon, but Phoenix managed to put up a barrier in time. "Surfer, if you detonate that device, not only will tens of thousands die, but your entire universe will be doomed."

"This isn't my universe," the Silver Surfer snarled frighteningly.

He prepared to launch another blast when he was knocked from his surfboard by Juggernaut. Betsy had been thrown by the Thing and little Crusher. Hulk then leaped upon the downed Surfer.

"Warheads are neutralized and sterilized!" called out Taskmaster. It was then that Betsy realized that their communicators had gone out when the Surfer arrived.

"Damnit!" shouted the surfer, who then disappeared in a dazzling flash of light. The Bruisers and Taskmaster were pulled out in an equally dazzling flash of light.

Panoptichron

"That is not comforting," Heather said, after talking with Thunderbolt. "Thanks General."

"Not a problem Dr. Hudson," he said, giving her a salute, then picking up Crusher, who was out-cold, and carrying the little girl to her room. Only the other Handlers knew that Ross had a daughter of his own… had in the past tense. She was killed by a rampaging Bruce Banner (AKA the Hulk). Ross had almost given his life to take vengeance upon his daughter's fiancé. When he won, he had been left severely crippled in his left leg and his right arm. However, he managed to find the strength to take care of Molly as if she were his own.

Heather turned around and ran right into Forge. "Oh, Hello, I was just on my way to find you," she said.

"I was feeling a bit adventurous so I reconfigured part of my arm to locate you," he explained with a smile. This Forge had both his arms replaced by prosthetics of his own design, his left leg, and part of his own brain. He was the smartest person in his reality, even smarter than Reed Richards. He was also considered insane in his reality because he also worked with magic. The earth in his reality strongly hated anything mystical or religious in nature. He was happy to be out of the asylum he'd been locked in.

"I guess this is the part where I show you what to do," she said.

"Yeah, do you mind?" he answered.

She put an arm out in front of her to show him the way. "In the central control room we've set up four Handler consoles and four Excursion platforms. We figure that is the safest number of missions to be handling at once."

"Makes sense," Forge said, turning around to take in the large room.

"Now the teams we have so far are the Fantastic Four, X-Men, Bruisers, Exiles, and Weapon X. We have members that can be plugged into different teams but are not on the team's regular roster, so don't be surprised to see more people than I mention hanging around."

"Of course, of course," He said, eager to learn about this new world.

"Every team has a handler, who's job it is to feed them information about the reality their in and their mission. They also have a field leader. Now while the Handler may often have a great deal of experience in field training, we insist they have a field leader. Now in cases like the Bruisers, the field leader, Betsy Braddock, often concedes to the Handler, Gen. Ross." She showed him to a fifth console in the center of the others. "This is the central Handler Console… my work station. From here I monitor the multiverse for excelerated rips, rogue phenomenon, and possible new hinges. I'm always on the look out for new assets."

"Okay, now can you explain the teams to me?" Forge asked.

"Well," she said, with a motion of her hand. She brought up a holographic display showing pictures of the teams in action.

"First you have the Fantastic Four. Their handler is Reed Richards. Their field leader is Ben Grimm, Stretch. The other regular members are Spider-Woman, Candle, and the Thing." She showed him the individual dossiers. "There is a lot of friction on this team, a great deal of personal issues that frankly, and I just don't have the patience to deal with. I think the lot of them need to sit down with Fthr. Wagner, he's not just a priest, he's a shrink."

"Then there is the X-Men. Their handler is Doug "Cypher" Ramsey, and their field leader is Scott "Cyclops" Summers. Both are rather young, neither out of their teens, but both are highly effective in their jobs. Even Fthr. Wagner, who is almost twice Doug's age, has no problem taking orders from either of them. They work very well, a very solid team. The other two team mates are Quicksilver and Boom-Boom."

"Then you have the Bruisers," she continued. "Their missions are basically ones where all you need to do is trample something, or someone flat. As I said before, Gen. Ross is their handler, and Juggernaut is their field leader in title only. There's also Molly, a surprisingly strong twelve year old, the Hulk, Phoenix, and the Thing is also a regular on their missions if he isn't busy with a FF mission."

"Moonlighting?" forge asked.

"Takes his mind off the world he came from," Heather explained sadly.

She brought up a picture that made her smile widely. "This team is known simply as 'Exiles'." Her grin showed off every one of her teeth. "They were my team originally, my family for a while." Her smile now went reminiscent. "In any case, their Handler is a former member who was crippled in a fight, his name is Thunderbird. Their field leader is Blink, and the other members are Spider-Man, Morph, Zarda, Long-Shot, and Captain America."

"That's a gorilla," Forge said, leaning close to the picture.

"You think that's weird, you should have seen the world with antelope men," she said dismissively. "In any case, Cap is a new addition to the team, but he doesn't seem to have any problems taking orders from Blink."

"And this Weapon X Team?" Forge asked. He remembered a program like that from his homeworld.

"Right…" she said quietly. "They are our… black ops team." She fidgeted. She always felt bad about resurrecting this team. "Missions that require acts that would normally be considered evil are handed to this team…" she looked away.

"It saves the multiverse," Forge said, putting a hand on her shoulders.

"Doesn't mean we have to like it," she said darkly. "Their handler is a hacker named Weasel. Their field leader is the Immortal, a genuinely decent guy… I jut have troubling figuring out how he can be a decent guy, an have no problem with what that team does."

"And the others?" Forge asked.

"Murders, cut throats… Even Sabertooth, who does have a heart, is ruthless. The other team members are Mystique, Taskmaster, and I have been preparing to talk to a man named Parker Robbins about joining the team."

"War calls for such things," he repeated.

"In any case," she said, happily moving on from that topic. "I have been trying to get together some members for different groups. I want to form an 'Inhuman' team for non-earth related missions. And an 'Infinity' mission of extremely high levelers."

"Sounds like good plans," Forge said, with a nodd. "You gonna show me how to work the consoles?" he asked.

She shook her head, "No, the Time Breakers can teach that to you faster than I can. Don't trust the little creeps for an instant, they think everything we're doing is wrong and should be changed. Trust your probability forecasting but interpret it liberally, be imaginative, and don't be afraid to recruit a diamond in the ruff."

"Are you even going to tell them good bye?" Forge asked looking Heather in the eye.

"I… I can't," she said, looking at the still displayed picture of the Exiles. "If I try to, I'll end up staying longer. I just want to go home to my husband. Is that too much to ask?"

Forge gave her a half hug. "I just hope I can fill your boots… although hopefully without the stilettos."

She laughed. She returned the hug and walked to the nearest excursion platform. "well… Timebreakers, for the last time, beam me out."

A half an hour later, the Exiles team, minus Captain America watched from the Central Handler Console as Heather assured her husband that this time she was home for good. Blink cried for the loss of her friend, Morph cried a happy and sad tear, Long shot sat pensieve and quiet. Zarda said a small prayer for good fortune for her friend, and Victor growled, "God's speed Heather."

All was interrupted by their screen being taken over by the face of a young black man in glasses. He had tall hair piled on his head. Behind him stood the Silver Surfer that the Bruisers had fought, the Goblin Queen (Madelyn Pryor), Cloak, and the very same Hyperion they thought they had lost for good. "Hello Exiled Army, meet my Dream Team. Just to let you know, we are going to crush you, and we're going to do it for fun, because we can." The black boy had glasses pushed up to on his forehead. Behind the assembled figures they could see what looked like the Panoptichron. "My name is Wilder… you are obsolete."


	6. Chapter 6

Exiles Desperation

Earth 86695

Blink smiled as she stood upon a windswept hilltop. Behind her a large group was setting up for a picnic.

"Cable!" reprimanded Scott Summers, native to this earth. "Stop pulling your sister's hair!" a six-year-old boy with silver hair and a glowing eye sulked away from a four-year-old girl with red hair.

"Sorry dad," Cable Summers muttered. Like most young boys, one of Cable's favorite pastimes was harassing his younger siblings. Blink walked back to the group. The Exiles team had been sent into this reality to encourage the meta-human population to have a large "family" picnic. Assuring them that if something were to go wrong, the Exiles would deal with it.

Jean Grey-Summers spun in a small circle with her youngest son, Nathan. Nathan was only two but looked for the most part like his father with silver hair. Nathan wriggled and she set him down to go play. Nathan toddled off a short distance to plop down by his "cousin", TJ.

Seeing that family brought a tear to Blink's eye. Kurt and Wanda were playing with their daughter TJ and Wanda's two boys from her first marriage, Tommy and Billy. Tommy and Billy were off following their Uncle Victor around like they always did.

The families were as such: Scot and Jean Summers with their three children Cable, Rachel, and Nathan. Magneto and Magda brought along with their two adult children Pietro and Wanda. Wanda was present with her second Husband Kurt, her ten-year-old twin children from her first marriage (to the Vision) Billy and Tommy, and her four-year-old daughter with Kurt, Talia Josephine "TJ" Wagner. Janet Van Dyne had come at the insistence of her "grandson" the Vision and her "great-grandchildren" Billy and Tommy. She was not related to either of them by blood, but all looked up to her as if she were. She was divorced from their father and grandfather, Henry Pym. Hank Pym was also there along with his eldest grandson, Victor Mancha, who had flown up with his mother Marianella. Pietro had convinced Crystal to come with their daughter Luna. Black Bolt and Medusea also decided to come as well. The Fantastic Four were also in attendance with Valeria and Franklin Richards. May and Edwin Jarvis were there along with May's nephew Peter, Peter's wife MJ, and MJ and Peter's daughter May "Mayday" Parker.

The Exiles roamed around the grounds playing with the families, making sure all had a good time. Blink stood off in the distance, pensive. She couldn't help but worry about the "replacements" as they had come to be called, the dark group lead by that boy, Wilder. Since his ultimatum roughly two weeks ago, nothing had been heard from him.

She felt a tug at the hem of her dress and looked down. There was four-year-old Rachel Summers. "Hello little one," she said with a smile. "How can I help you?"

"Do you have a special friend?" she asked.

Puzzled, Blinks mind immediately drifted to Craig Hollis, but she didn't reply. She and Craig had patched things up since their blow out over his Weapon X missions. She understood that he didn't want her to see the dark things he had to do, but it took him a while to understand that she didn't care, and that she understood the need for those missions. "Um… not really," she said.

"Well… Billy Maximoff was telling me about his special friend Teddy, and I was wanting to know if you'd be my special friend because you're really pretty."

Blink's jaw dropped as she smiled, trying to figure out how to answer that. "Sweetie," she said. "I'm afraid that girls who want other girls to be their special friends are rather rare. But you'll find one some day. She'll be very pretty and she'll tell you how wonderful you are."

"Okay," Rachel Summers said. "Maybe Ms. Kitty will be my special friend."

Blink couldn't help but suppress a laugh.

* * *

I watched the families playing, wondering if somewhere out there, my family was playing like this. Maybe, perhaps, there was a world where I was a happy normal kid. I turned back to kids I was supposed to be entertaining. I turned into a big purple dinosaur and they ate it up. Shape shifting was easy, especially in this body. I wondered if any of my team suspected about me.

My name is Kevin MacTaggart. The Exiles don't realize I know that. They think I'm still under the assumption that I'm Kevin "Morph" Sydney. I'm not going to change that yet. I don't know why I should. I almost wish I had never 'awakened'. It didn't happen all at once. I noticed inconsistencies; they excluded me claiming it was only for big brains when I was highly intelligent myself, some of the way Power Princess talked about me, and an object I found in the sick bay, one of the Squadron's B-Mod helmets. I slowly realized that no one had every really explained how we had won against Proteus.

From that point on it didn't take me long to realize what had happened. Once I came to the inevitable conclusion that I WAS Proteus, the memories came flooding back. I felt that old rage for a moment… but then I felt something else. Home. As Proteus I had been searching for a body that could sustain me, and this one would do more than that. But, deeper down, I was searching for a family. My father had abandoned my mother and I at an early point, and my mother had locked me away in a metal room… metal burns me. But…

Now here with the Exiles I didn't need to worry about any of that. I didn't need to run, or to take revenge… they had given me something, not taken anything. They were my friends. I touched them, and they didn't flinch, I stood clowned for them and they laughed… after three weeks of wondering whether or not to kill them all, I chose to let go of that rage. To take up the oath left over from Cal's memory. The other never to kill again would be mine. I would carry it on for him, just as I carry his love for Clarice, Morph's love for Mariko, and the loves of all those who had gone before in my mind.

It's so strange deciding to go from demon to angel. I can't help but wonder if this was Morph's doing; if his heart, deep down in my memories, is guiding me. I couldn't help but wonder how gone my former hosts really are.

* * *

Panoptichron

Forge pulled up a couple more files. He had chosen three more recruits. Parker Robbins was a two bit thug who possessed a pair of mystical shoes that let him walk on air, and a mystic hood and cloak that allowed him unlimited invisibility. He was joining the Weapon X team. Starlight was a former Herald of Galactus. Her real name was Tandy Bowen. Her light and life force generating abilities had been increased by the power cosmic she now possessed. She would be the First of the Infinity team. The other new recruit was going on the Bruiser team, probably replacing Juggernaut as team leader. Dr. Sampson was a scientist who had been exposed to gamma radiation and developed super-strength that was proportionate to his hair. His strength level was stabilized when he absorbed the gamma-energy of the Hulk. Of course his strength level was stabilized at a level where he could punch a hole through a mountain. He had exiled himself to the Blue Area of the Moon, where he lived with Uatu the Watcher.

Forge had Lil' Crusher showing Doc. Sampson around, and Craig Hollis was showing both Starlight and the Hood around. At that moment the Exiles returned.

"Can we have more missions like that?" asked Blink.

"I think not," growled Zarda. "If that man… that… Pym propositioned me ONCE MORE…" she crackled her knuckles.

"Relax Zarda," Forge said. "You've been bugging me to build up that Infinity team," he said.

"You have found one?" she asked. He waved the Exiles over to his console.

Forge counted down for them, "In three… two… one…" the image of the world they had just left behind jumped for a moment and all of a sudden the children they had met there were all grown up. "That world was preparing to experience a quantum-temporal anomaly. Relative to other realities they sped forward through roughly sixteen years. So we had to fix the problem fast or you would have spent a great deal of time on that world."

"What does this all have to do with an Infinity team member?" Zarda asked boredly.

"This," Forge said as he beamed someone out of that reality. There standing on the Exile's excursion platform was a red-head with green eyes. She was roughly 21 years old. "Where am I?" she asked. A tattoo began to glow over her right eye.

"Please relax Ms. Summers," Forge said. "You are in the Panoptichron and may be returned to your world at any moment. We are asking you to join a special team designed to take on world threatening missions."

Rachel looked around. "Where were you people when my mother and brothers sacrificed themselves to save the planet from Apocalypse?"

"Sadly…" Forge said. "That was something that needed to happen for your reality. "Had it not the Phoenix Force would have corrupted your mother and caused her to kill thirteen world by devouring their suns."

"What?!" she asked.

"With your mother's death the Phoenix Force learned grace and humility and sacrifice. So in it's new host it was happy to work and be a tool more than a dominant mind."

"Well… who is it's new host?" she asked.

"You are Ms. Summers," Forge said. He stepped from around his console. "Please, come with me, I'll show you to your quarters if you'd like to join us. If not, say the word and I'll send you back right now."

"No… I'll stay," Rachel said distantly. Her mother and brothers had just died saving the world from the menace that had taken over her father… basically they had died killing her father. Her best friend from youth, TJ, had rejected her after she'd come on too strong (TJ was straight). She felt there was nothing left on her world to return for. "I'll fight with you."

Forge smiled. "Welcome, Marvel Girl. I don't really have time to show you around it turns out," he announced as his console began beeping. "I'll have… AH!" he grabbed Mary Jane who was passing by at the time. "Mary, would you show our new Hinge around? She has the quarter's just opposite yours."

Mary Jane and Rachel regarded each other for a moment and blushed. The two redheads left the operations room.

"You're trying to start something," Blink said with a smile.

"More somethings than you realize, Dear Clarice," he said with a smile. He gave the girl a pat on the head and sauntered back to his console.

Zarda smiled, "Heather chose wisely with him."

"aye, she was a smar' lass," Morph muttered with a grin.

Only Captain America was close enough to hear it. Morph cleared his throat and moved on quickly. The gorilla watched Morph shrewdly, wondering if… possibly if…


End file.
